Transgender, transracial … transviral?
Here we go. Is being transracial the new transgender? Perhaps you’ve read about George Washington University’s Jessica Krug who recently confessed she had spent her teaching career pretending to be black, despite being Jewish and white. Or maybe the more high-profile case of Rachel Dolezal, whose white parents were shocked that their daughter self-identified as black (artificially bronzing her skin) and had even become an NAACP chapter president!
Then, of course, there’s former presidential hopeful, Elizabeth Warren, who (despite an ambiguous DNA test) adamantly claims Native American ancestry. Says she just feels Native American! Who, then, possibly could object…other than perhaps Native Americans! Outraged blacks are saying to Krug and Dolezal, “You haven’t experienced what we blacks have experienced, so don’t pretend you’re black!” It’s facts, not subjective feelings that matter.
Unless, of course, you want to change your gender because you feel more comfortable the other way, in which case the enlightened among us will happily celebrate your being transgendered. It’s what you subjectively feel that counts. Never mind that you want to be a woman without ever having menstruated or shared any other uniquely female experiences — as sensibly protested by many feminists, along with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling (pilloried by the trans lobby for daring to point out the obvious). The inspiring line, “You can be whatever you want to be” clearly no longer means what it used to mean! And not just you. It can be whatever you want it to be. If you want the baby, then it’s a baby. If you don’t want the baby, then it’s not a baby!
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If you’re wondering where all this madness is coming from, I’m reminded of the Law and Morality seminar I taught at Pepperdine three decades ago. “Are there moral absolutes?” I asked. To which even some of my Christian students replied: “Absolutely not!” Then, “Is there no such thing as inherent evil?” Again, an insistent “No!” With the hook now baited, “What about the Holocaust? Was the slaughter of six million Jews not inherently evil?” Quite incredibly, one of my Jewish students answered, “Certainly, I wouldn’t want that happening to me or my family, but…[hang on!]…I can’t impose my values on anyone else.” Wow! Having denied moral absolutes and inherent evil, logic demands a spine-chilling conclusion.
Multiple generations have now drunk the Kool-Aid of relativism and non-judgmentalism, by which the only truth that matters is your own truth. But dare challenge that view, and it will be seen as an existential threat, triggering sanctimonious judgment, even militant imposition of their “personal truth!” Ours may be the most viciously judgmental “non-judgmental” generation ever!
Want to know what’s behind all the moral chaos and social upheaval lately? Go back and re-read the book of Judges, which chronicles a degenerate period in Israel’s history. The last verse explains the problem: “There was no king in those days, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” “No king” — as in, no ultimate authority; as in, no moral absolutes; as in, everyone decides what feels right for them. Running red lights? Cheating? Looting? Assassinating cops?
But there is good news here. Forget the coming vaccine, have you heard about the instant sure-cure for COVID-19? If you get the virus, simply tell yourself that’s just not who you are! You’re…umm…transviral! Good luck with that. Don’t you just hate it when hard facts refuse to make way for wishful feelings and personal truth?
F. LaGard Smith is a retired law school professor (Pepperdine, Liberty, and Faulkner law schools), and is the author of some 35 books, touching on law, faith, and social issues. He is the compiler and narrator of The Daily Bible (the NIV and NLT arranged in chronological order), and posts weekly devotionals on Facebook, drawing spiritual applications from current events.
